


Still a Cheater

by JoMouse



Series: Christmas in July 2019 [5]
Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Christmas In July | Christmas Out Of Season, Christmas Presents, Christmas Tree, Cute, Don't copy to another site, Fluff, Food, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-24
Updated: 2019-07-24
Packaged: 2020-07-19 06:07:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,683
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19969273
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JoMouse/pseuds/JoMouse
Summary: Stiles and Derek agree to exchange Christmas in July gifts, but there are rules.





	Still a Cheater

**Author's Note:**

> MERRY CHRISTMAS (in July)!!!!
> 
> This is written for the [Imagine-Sterek Christmas in July](http://imagine-sterek.tumblr.com/) event. Today’s theme was Presents.
> 
> This is completely unbeta’d so all errors are mine, but I did try to catch them. Any outrageous grammar errors, please let me know!
> 
> Xx-Joey
> 
> Don’t know ‘em. Don’t own ‘em. Don’t show ‘em.

Stiles woke slowly, taking in the warmth surrounding him and the absolute quiet of the house. Snuggling back into Derek’s arms, he grinned when the ‘wolf snuffled against the back of his neck before breathing out and completely relaxing again. As nice as it had been to have a houseful of people the night before, it had been just as nice watching them all leave around one in the morning...especially Peter who Derek had practically pushed out the door and only succeeded because Cora was tugging on him from the other side. There had been threats of another visit soon, but that was a problem for future Stiles.

Stretching, Stiles twisted and carefully pulled himself out of Derek’s arms, replacing himself with his pillow, grinning at the way he buried his face into the fabric, snuffling again before making a slightly disgruntled sound and eventually falling back into slumber. Making his way down the stairs, Stiles glanced out the half-moon window at the top of the front door to see the sunlight twinkling on the still piled high snow.

The novelty of the unseasonable weather was wearing off, but not to the point that he absolutely hated the results of the wish. In fact, even the visit the day before from Uncle Peter had turned into something special. It wasn’t the first Christmas he’d spent with the pack, but it was the first one he’d spent while living with Derek in the house. After dating through college and securing a telecommuting job through a cyber tech company based in Sacramento, it made sense for Stiles to move in with Derek rather than back in with his father when he’d graduated in early May, just a mere two months earlier.

They’d been living together for two weeks when they’d exchanged mating bites. Despite Derek stating repeatedly that Stiles didn’t need to bite him back, he’d insisted and by some power of his Spark, Derek sported a scar to match his own; a fact Stiles knew Derek was proud of by the way he not-so-subtly showed it off whenever he had the chance. So, technically, this would qualify as their first Christmas together and Stiles had the sudden urge to commemorate the occasion. 

Settling down at the table in their library-slash-workshop, Stiles pulled together art supplies and a couple of the miniature pine cones he’d collected on his foraging expedition the day all the trouble had started. Working carefully, he built a tiny house using sticks and leaves he’d gathered, glueing it to a square piece of cardboard from an Amazon box that had been delivered recently. Using some of the leftover paint from their redecorating binge after he’d moved in, he painted in details before finally glueing two of the pinecones in front of the door to represent him and Derek; he even gave one of them little red eyes. and painted it with some of the leftover paint from their redecorating binge after he’d moved in. 

He was carefully painting, “First Christmas (in July) Together,” on the roof when he heard a noise behind him and quickly dropped the remnants of the cardboard box over the project to hide it just as Derek came up behind him, wrapping his arms around his waist and pressing a kiss over his mating bite, smiling against the skin at the shiver that went through Stiles.

“What’re you up to?” he asked, reaching around Stiles towards the box and getting his hand slapped for his efforts.

“It’s a surprise,” Stiles told him, rising to his feet to let the ornament dry and getting Derek’s curious nose away from it.

“Alright,” he murmured, turning Stiles in his arms and kissing him gently. “Is it a present for me?”

Stiles tilted his head; he hadn’t really thought about it being an actual present for Derek, more just something silly for the both of them, but it was Christmas and a small part of that was presents. “Yes,” he said, grinning as he started running through his mind for more gifts, determined to spoil his ‘wolf thoroughly without drawing too much attention.

“Same rules?” Derek asked, referring to the gift-giving rules they’d created when they’d first started dating and Stiles had grown tired of the lavish gifts Derek had bestowed on him that he couldn’t begin to match in return.

Stiles nodded. “Handmade gifts preferred made of no individual pieces priced over twenty-five dollars. Same price restrictions applied to any gifts that are purchased.” He narrowed his eyes at Derek, seeing something flickering in his eyes that had nothing to do with his Alpha color. “No loopholes,” he said, pointing a finger at Derek who just smirked, pressed a quick kiss to his lips, and disappeared out of the room.

They spent the rest of the day apart, each working on presents for the other. Stiles spent most of it in the workshop putting finishing touches on the ornament and hurriedly mixing up a tea that he knew Derek enjoyed. Once those activities were done, he made his way into the kitchen and made a quick lunch, taking Derek’s out to the living room and setting it on the coffee table along with a gallon bottle of water. “Kitchen’s off-limits for a while,” he said to the empty room, smiling when he heard acknowledgement from the basement curious what Derek was working on down there.

Once he’d returned to the kitchen, he magicked the room to hold in anything that would alert Derek to his activities, smells, sounds and the like. Working quickly, he mixed together the ingredients for pineapple upside-down cake, sliding it into the oven and exiting the room, carrying the kitchen timer with him since he wouldn’t hear it from elsewhere in the house. He went to the attic and dug out the holiday wrapping paper, bringing the tote downstairs and grabbing out the roll he wanted, leaving the rest where Derek could easily find it.

When the timer went off, he hurried to the kitchen, passing Derek who was headed upstairs, sweat-soaked with a towel wrapped around his neck. Stiles ducked away from his kiss, holding his nose and making gagging noises, earning a swat to his bottom hard enough to cause him to stumble, sliding down the stairs. He was laughing but he wondered how Derek had time to work out when they were supposed to be working on presents for each other.

He pulled the dessert out of the oven, waited as long as he could before flipping the cake over onto the decorative cake plate that had belonged to his mother. He put the pan into the sink to soak and dropped the barrier to the kitchen, laughing when there was the unmistakable sound of Derek landing on the first floor after having jumped from upstairs. He was in the doorway a split second later. “Pineapple Upside Down Cake?” He asked, entering the kitchen and trying to peek around Stiles, finally picking him up by the waist and moving him out of the way.

“I figured it would be better to let you have this warm,” Stiles explained, grabbing two forks out of the drawer, forgoing plates as a lost cause.

Derek grabbed a fork and took a large mouthful, letting out a blissful moan. “You are amazing,” he mumbled around the food in his mouth before swallowing and taking another forkful.

“I’m glad you think so,” Stiles said, smiling as he took a small bite, savoring Derek’s enjoyment of the dessert more than he’d ever enjoyed eating it himself.

After a few more bites, Stiles started pulling out ingredients, spreading them out on the kitchen island watching Derek’s eyes widen with each item he pulled out. “Lasagne with homemade noodles?”

“Hey, I know how to wrap you around my finger,” Stiles commented.

“You definitely have that,” Derek said, his voice strange but when Stiles turned to look at him, he was gone, the fork still rocking on the empty cake plate.

“So weird,” Stiles said as he began mixing the ingredients together for the noodles.

After dinner, the lasagne disappearing almost as quickly as the cake had earlier, Stiles went into the workshop to grab the wrapped presents from earlier. Along with the ornament and tea, Stiles had wrapped up a coffee mug shaped like a howling wolf that he’d stored in the closet months earlier after he’d found it at a garage sale. He was excited to see Derek’s reaction to everything and although he was confident that he would love them, there was still a small bundle of nerves burrowed into his stomach creating uneasiness as he entered the living room to find Derek fiddling with the branches on the tree.

“Merry Christmas in July!” Stiles said, pasting a smile on his face and tilting his chin up for the kiss that was offered. He nudged Derek towards the couch laughing when he dropped down onto it with an exaggerated, “Oof,” and then made grabby hands at the presents in Stiles’ hands. He set the gifts down next to Derek and then sat at the other end of the couch, leaning his back against the arm and looking at him expectantly.

“Oldest first,” Derek reminded, smirking

“That’s a stupid rule,” Stiles huffed half-heartedly. He knew it was a rule that the Hale family had when Derek was a child and when he’d mentioned it the first Christmas gift exchange with the pack, Stiles had been the one to insist they keep the tradition alive; he was just glad not to be the youngest in the pack.

Derek lifted up each package and gave a shake, smiling when Stiles squawked at him. Carefully lifting the edges of the paper to reveal the glass jar of tea. “Perfect. I ran out last week and didn’t want to bother you to make more,” Derek told him, setting the mug aside and lifting up the next package.

He unwrapped the next two gifts just as carefully, rolling his eyes at the mug but immediately rising and placing it on the shelf with other wolf knick-knacks that Stiles had bought over the years. Despite the eye rolls and groaning, Stiles had caught the ‘wolf running his fingers over the items at random times when he thought he was alone. 

He held the ornament up, his gaze softening as his eyes ran over the writing on the roof and then looking up at Stiles, eyes moist. “I love it,” he said. “This is what you were working on this morning?”

Stiles nodded, wiping at his eyes, throat too tight to form words at the emotion pouring off of his mate. “I love you,” he managed to choke out. “I hope this is the first of many Christmases together.”

“Me, too,” Derek said, leaning in to press a kiss to Stiles’ lips before standing and crossing to the tree to hang the ornament in a prominent spot of the tree. He pulled his cellphone out and snapped a picture, sending it off to the pack with a grin when Stiles teased him. Returning to his side, he kissed him firmly, holding him tightly. When the kiss ended, he pressed their foreheads together and whispered, “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome,” Stiles told him, holding the sanctity of the moment for as long as he could before bursting out, “Where’s mine?”

“You’re what?” Derek asked, trying to pull an innocent face but his thick eyebrows ruining the effect. The laugh that rocked out of him when Stiles smacked him on the arm, shaking away the sting afterwards, caused laughter to bubble up inside Stiles as well. “Check the tree,” he said after another kiss that was mostly clacking teeth because they were both smiling too wide.

Approaching the tree, Stiles was distracted by the ornament that he’d made and it took Derek grasping his cheeks gently and turning his gaze for him to notice other new ornament hanging on the tree. It was a small wooden disc with a photo shellacked to the front of it. The photo was the first one of the two of them that had been taken after they’d officially gotten together; Stiles was in Derek’s lap and Derek had his face pressed into his neck, both of them laughing. It was Stiles favorite photo of them and had been Stiles’ phone wallpaper for the first year they’d been together. 

“I love it!” Stiles exclaimed. “We should make then for all of the Pack members.”

Derek wrapped his arms around Stiles’ waist, resting his chin on his shoulder. “Turn it over,” he whispered before nipping at Stiles’ earlobe. 

Carefully, Stiles flipped over the disc to find a small velvet bag tied to the wood. Leaning his head back to give Derek a strange look, he pulled the ornament off the tree and carefully pulled the bag free. Derek stepped back and took the ornament, hanging it back on the tree while Stiles opened the bag, tilting it out over his palm, gasping when the contents tumbled out into his palm.

A simple silver horseshoe nail ring rested in his palm, a sparkling triskelion on the nail head. Stiles swallowed hard and glared at Derek who’s eyebrows raised and narrowed in confusion. “You cheater!” 

“W...w-hat?” Derek asked, reaching for the ring, tugging when Stiles wouldn’t let go at first.

“That breaks the gift-giving rules! There’s no way that diamond dust cost less than twenty-five dollars!” Stiles accused, his eyes still locked on the ring.

The tips of Derek’s ears pinked. “Technically, the diamond cost more than twenty-five dollars, but it’s crushed so the individual pieces of the dust each cost less than the approved price.” Stiles shoved him again. “Loophole.”

“I said no loopholes!” Stiles was laughing now.

“Well, if you don’t want it, after I worked so hard to make it from one of the nails I found on the grounds of the old house…” Derek teased.

“Gimme! Gimme! Gimme!” Stiles said, grabbing for the ring and swiping it from Derek to admire it some more, tilting it to see something inscribed on the inside. “Did you engrave this yourself?” he asked as his eyes traced over _ Te quiero mi corazón _ .

When Derek didn’t answer right away, Stiles pulled his attention away from the ring to find Derek kneeling at his feet, looking pale and far more nervous than Stiles had ever seen him. “Der?”

“Stiles, I know we’re already mated, but that’s a werewolf tradition and you’re human.” Stiles opened his mouth to argue, but Derek cut him off. “I love that you’re human, it’s one of my favorite things about you because it means you are the strongest type of human to run with ‘wolves. Because you’re human, I don’t want you to have to miss out on human traditions, so what I’m saying is…” He took a deep breath before continuing. “Mieczyslaw Stilinski, will you marry me?”

The words were barely out of Derek’s mouth before Stiles was tackling him to the ground, screaming, “Yes! Yes! Yes!” It took the ring falling out of his hands and rolling across the floor and underneath the tree for him to stop.

Retrieving the ring, Derek slipped it onto Stiles’ hand and kissed it gently before whispering the words that were engraved inside the ring. They spent a few moments kissing before Derek stood, pulling Stiles up to stand and then up into his arms to carry him towards the bedroom, stopping to kiss him every third step. 

Once in the bedroom, Derek tossed Stiles on the bed, watching him bounce and laugh before crawling up next to him. “Are you happy?” he asked.

“I couldn’t be happier,” Stiles assured him, running his hands up Derek’s chest as his eyes watched the way his ring sparkled in the light. His smile quirked into a smirk just as he twisted one of Derek’s nipples sharply, earning a swat and a shout. “Though, you’re still a cheater,” he said, giggling before he could get the entire sentence out as Derek’s fingers dug into his side, tickling.

  
  
  
  


**Author's Note:**

> Come say hi on tumblr: josjournal
> 
> Tomorrow's theme is Christmas Miracles and I'm having a hard time coming up with ideas. Any suggestions?


End file.
